Sharps injuries

Sharps injuries are a significant injury and health hazard for health
care workers and also result in a number of direct and indirect
organizational costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) estimates that about 385,000 sharps-related injuries occur
annually among health care workers. More recent estimates from The
Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet™) indicate this number
may have been increasing steadily during the past nine years. It is
estimated about one third of these injuries go unreported.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
developed STOP STICKS, a campaign which focuses on raising awareness
that, in turn, prepares and motivates healthcare workers to make the
changes needed to reduce sharps injuries. The campaign goal is to raise
awareness about the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens such as
HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C from needlesticks and other
sharps-related injuries in the workplace. While the campaign materials
were developed mainly for operating room and emergency department
audiences, the target audience includes all clinical and nonclinical
healthcare workers and healthcare administrators.

Information and materials are available from the NIOSH website,
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stopsticks/.



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